Mark Salusbury is a professional turner whose work has enhanced many galleries and can be seen on makersgallery.
Mark's way....
How I Achieve An Effective Varnish Finish
By Mark Salusbury
Varnish (includes urethane) is my choice of finish. It is easy to apply, durable, chemical resistant, may be applied in a variety of ways to suit the user, may be modified with mineral spirits, naptha and or boiled linseed oil to achieve differing working properties and in most cases is non-toxic (food safe) once dried.
Recommendation: choose a brand of varnish that works well for you, is cost effective and readily available and use it as your ‘finish of choice’; experiment with that one finish and modify it to your satisfaction. Avoid working with several kinds of finishes or you’ll never get to know how to apply any of them well. For example, I use General Finishes ‘Salad Bowl Finish’ available from , as my primary varnish and base for most of my modified solutions. As a secondary product I use General Finishes ‘Arm-R-Seal’, a urethane from the same source where I need a thicker product for greater durability. Both can be used interchangeably and modified in the same ways.
Sanding method discussed is power sanding by lathe/drill followed by hand sanding.
to begin a good finish use keen tools and cut the wood cleanly, smoothly and effectively
dress your grind stone; make sure it is clean, flat and ‘open’ to put a keen edge on your tools
use the correct turning speed to get an effective cut; neither too slow nor too fast
use a steady, controlled approach, action and follow through when cutting and/or sheer-scraping
sheer-scrape to refine shapes and remove any imperfect prior tool work
use fresh, sharp sanding abrasives; worn abrasives are wasteful and destructive
use an effective sanding speed, generally slower than your turning speed . don’t skip grits ( 80, 120, 180, 240, 320, 400 is my suggestion)
(optional but suggested) use a lubricant that works with your final finish to soften the wood fibres for a more effective cut during sheer/scraping and sanding and promote longer tool/abrasive life. Experiment with a light application of WD-40, boiled linseed oil thinned with mineral spirits, light mineral oil or water at 80 thru 180 grits.
Reverse grain rotation between grits to cut the fibres cleanly from both sides
Reduce lathe speed as you increase grit number (ie. slower rpm for 180 grit than 120 and slower again for 240 grit) for a more effective cutting action and to change the swirl pattern.
Increase lathe speed for the final pass of the final grit to ‘buff’ or turn lathe off and disengage drive belt and power sand using the drill to drive the process then hand sand over all with finest grit.
Varnish…Really Filling The Holes
Make sure you have good ventilation and/or a carbon filter mask and vinyl gloves …2
Varnish and urethane are both durable finishes that build well on the surface of your work piece, do not ‘weep’ like tung oil finishes and are easy to modify with thinners and/or oils to tailor its working properties to suit your needs. Choose a product whose manufacturers claims and methods of application suit your circumstances and needs. Use the product straight from the can following the manufacturers directions then try modifying to see how the product works altered.
apply the first coat of varnish uncut (no thinning) liberally with a brush or disposable brush made from folded paper towel (fold into quarters then fold the quarter into thirds)
let sit to absorb for about 5 minutes then wipe overall with paper towel and put aside to dry. If you wipe it ‘dry’ you can probably recoat in the same way in two hours. If you leave a visible film on the surface you’ll want to let it dry for 4-6 hours before recoating.
Repeat steps 1 and 2. Let dry thoroughly
Repeat steps 1 and 2. Let dry thoroughly
Rub piece down with 0000 oil-less steel wool (wash regular steel wool with lacquer thinner to remove manufacturing oils) then blow (compressed air) or vacuum the piece using a clean brush to agitate the surface to remove all traces of steel wool fibres
Repeat steps 1 and 2 wiping piece ‘dry’ (no film left visibly anywhere on the surface). Let dry over night.
You should now have a finished piece that is smooth and nub-free. If it still looks ‘dry’ and/or showing sanding marks etc, repeat steps 5 and 6.
Now you can apply wax to further refine and protect if appropriate. Wax may be applied with 0000 steel wool or a paper towel depending on whether you want a ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ gloss surface. A carnauba/beeswax blend is my best suggestion or a liquid satin wax is less durable but produces a soft natural sheen ‘out of the bottle’ (or you can get a satin finish by wiping carnauba/beeswax, once set, with 0000 steel wool).
Recommended finishing products:
- General ‘Salad Bowl Finish’, General ‘Armour-R-Seal’ (Woodchuckers Supply (800) 551-0192), Zinsser ‘Quick-15 (for its clarity and rapid setup time) (paint specialty shops)
- Oil-free 0000 steel wool (Lee Valley (53Z08.05)
- ‘Bounty’ brand paper towels (absorbent, lint free, excellent applicator and wiper, follows contours and gets into details well to remove excess finish effectively)
- vinyl gloves (Lee Valley)
Modification suggestions:
Mineral spirits cuts varnish and extends working time. Cut no more than 10-20%
Naptha cuts varnish and shortens drying time. Cut no more than 10%
For an oil type wiping varnish: 1/3rd boiled linseed oil, 1/3rd varnish, 1/3rd mineral spirits or for less oil 4 oz. boiled linseed oil, 8 oz. varnish, 5 oz. mineral spirits. (Fine Woodworking issue 144, pp. 106-108)
Other recommended reading re: suggestions for food safe finishes are discussed in Fine Woodworking issue 129, pp. 66-69.